Bowling ball marker



July 28; 1959 J. G.-BERNARD 2,896,530

BOWLING BALL MARKER- Filed- Doc, 6, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 r 30 FIG. .1 45

INVENTOR. JAMES G. Eawmeo, BY

aurlw aax. ATTOE/VEV FIG. 6.

y 1959 J. G. BERNARD 2,896,530

' BOWLING BALL MARKER- Filed Dec. 6, 1957 FIG. 4.

JAMEs a. 552N420,

ATTOlQ/VEY-S.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent BOWLING BALL MARKER James G. Bernard, Seattle, Wash. Application December 6, 1957, Serial No. 701,025 6 Claims. cl. 101-4 This invention is a device for marking a bowling ball with the owners name or with any other identifying indicia.

The main object of the invention is to swiftly, neatly, and accurately place a selected indicium or a combination of indicia, in the form of letters, numbers, etc., on the surface of a bowling ball.

Other objects will appear from the following description, the claims appended thereto, and from the annexed drawing, in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a top plan view, portions being broken away, a bowling ball being shown partially in full and partially in dotted lines in position to be marked;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section on line 2--2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a transverse section on line 3-3 of Fig ure 1;

Figure 4 is an enlarged detail section on line 4--4 of Figure l;

Figure 5 is a sectional view on the same scale as Figure 4, taken on line 5-5 of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is an enlarged detail sectional view on line 6--6 of Figure 1; and

Figure 7 is a sectional view on the same scale. as Figure 6, taken on line 77 of Figure 6.

Referring to the drawing in detail, a bowling ball support frame 8 includes a horizontal, thick, generally rectangular, elevated top plate 10 rigid along its back wall with a vertical, transverse, back wall 12, fixedly connected along its bottom edge to a flat, horizontal, rectangular base plate 14. Fixedly connected between the top plate and base plate along the side edges thereof are side walls 16, 16, and at the front of the frame, front strips 18, 18 are similarly connected between the front edges of the plates, defining between the strips a front opening 20, communicating with a large, forwardly opening, deep, arcuate recess 24 formed in the top plate and curved through about 270 of a circle.

A bowling ball B is adapted to be removably positioned in the frame, fitting into the recess 24 and projecting out of the recess 20.

Pressure guide roller assemblies, generally designated 25, and shown in detail in Figures 4 and 5, are provided at angularly spaced locations in the wall of recess 24, said assemblies each including a headed roller support pin 26, having a vertical shank 28. Shank 28 extends through vertically aligned openings formed in upper and lower roller support plates 30, 32 respectively, welded to the top and bottom surfaces of top plate 10. A cotter pin 34 is used to hold the pin 26 in place.

Pin 26 extends through a bushing 36, and through washers 38 abutting the respective ends of the bushing. A roller 40, having a transversely concave outer surface, rotates freely on the pin, and projects slightly into the recess 24, as clearly seen in Figure 1.

The rollers, thus, contact the bowling ball, and support the ball for rotation about a vertical axis, within the "ice support frame 8, said rollers spacing the bowling ball from the wall of the recess 24 to minimize the possibility of damage to the bowling ball. The bowling ball, further, is rotatably supported at its bottom upon the bottom wall 14.

Engaged in andproj'ecting forwardly from the front edge of top plate 10 are elongated, horizontal, parallel studs 42 at opposite sides of recess 20. A handle support bar 44, at its opposite ends, has smooth-walled bores 45, receiving studs 42. Nuts 46 are threaded onto the studs, bearing against the front and back. edges of the transversely disposed bar 44, thus to permit adjustment of the bar toward and away from the support frame 8, with the bar being securely held in selected positions to which it is adjusted.

The bar, over substantially its full length, has a slot 48, and fulcrumed in this slot is a horizontally disposed, elongated handle or die support bar 50 having at its outer end a hand grip 52.

Referring to Figure 6, fixedly secured to the inner end of the bar 50 is a die support block 54 of segmental shape, which could be cut from a ring, not shown, having the desired cross-sectional shape. In other words, in the manufacture of the device, initially there can be formed a ring having the cross sectional shape of block 54 shown in Figure 6. This ring would be cut into segments, to provide a plurality of blocks 54, for use in a corresponding number of marking devices.

Overlying block 54 is a clamping plate 56. This is also of segmental shape, and has a smooth-walled opening 5 7'receiving the shank of a clamp screw 58 threadedly engaged in a threaded opening 59 of block 54.

A plurality of individual dies are provided, said dies having arcuate outer faces 61 (see Figure 1) on which would be formed, in relief, the particular indicium represented by said die. The dies are progressively reduced in width in a direction from their outer to their inner ends, so that. the dies can be assembled fan-fashion (see Figure 1) between block 54 and plate 56. The dies have transverse grooves on their undersides, receiving an upwardly projecting, arcuate rib 62 provided upon the block 54.

Due to this arrangement, the clamping plate 56 can be removed and a plurality of dies assembled, for the purpose of embossing a bowling ball B with a desired legend or identifying marking. Then, clamp screw 58 is applied to clamp the dies fixedly between block 54 and plate 56.

Means is provided for pivoting the bar 50 on the fulcrum bar 44 for horizontal swinging movement, thus to locate a selected die 60 in centered position, tangentially contacting the ball B, for the purpose of producing a marking in the surface of the ball responsive to advancement of the tangentially contacting die toward the ball surface. The pivot pin is associated with means for providing the advancement with the die. Accordingly, and referring to Figures 6 and 7, a vertically disposed pin 63 has at its upper end a cross pin 64 providing a handle for rotating the pin 63. Pin 63 is integrally formed adjacent its lower end with an eccentric collar 66 (see Figure 7), rotatably engaged in a bushing 68 mounted within an opening 69 of bar 50. Bushings 70 are engaged in openings 71 of the bar 44, and provide hearings in which pin 63 is journaled.

By reason of this arrangement, and assuming a selected assemblage of dies has been engaged between block 54 and plate 56, the bowling ball is placed in position in the support frame. Then, each die 60 is brought in turn into contacting relation to the surface of the ball B, starting at one end of the row of dies and continuing to the other end. This is done by lateral swinging of the bandle, the handle pivoting at this time about the axis of the eccentric collar, that is, about the axis of the bushing 68.

With a selected die properly positioned, one now turns handle 64 through approximately 180 degrees, as a result of which the eccentric is turned through a corresponding angular distance. This causes advancement of the bar 50in the direction of its length, radially, inwardly toward the bowling ball; This of course forces the die that is in tangentially contacting relation to the ball surface, into said surface. Handle 64 is now turned in a reverse direction to retract the die. The bar 50 is now swung'laterally to locate the next die in position and the operation is repeated.

The device, as will be apparent, permits the swift, easy, and accurate imprinting or embossing of a bowling ball surface with a selected identifying legend. The device, accordingly, not only has considerable possibilities of use in. bowling ball manufacturing plants but also, in bowling alleys, as well as in sporting goods stores, so that the owner of a bowling ball can have his name or other identification embossed in the surface o-f the ball.

It is believed apparent that the invention is not necessarily confined to the specific use or uses thereof described above, since it may be utilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the invention to be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated and descnbed, since such construction is only intended to be illustrative of the principles, it being considered that the invention comprehends any minor change in construction that may be permitted within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A bowling ball marker comprising: a frame having a ball-receivingrecess opening upon one side of the frame; spaced, parallel, elongated studs projecting laterally outwardly from said side at opposite sides of the recess; a handle support bar extending transversely of the studs therebetween in confronting relation to said side of the frame, and supported at its ends upon the studs for adjustment longitudinally of the studs toward and away from said open side oft he support frame; a pin mounted on said bar between the studs for rotation about an axis normal to the length of the studs, said pin including a collar eccentric to the pin axis; a handle lying crosswise of the bar in a plane perpendicular to said axis and extending at one end toward said open side of the frame, said handle. having intermediate its ends an opening in which the collar is rotatably engaged; die clamp means carried by the handle at the end thereof nearer the frame; and dies engaged in the die clamp means in confronting relation to said open saide of the frame, for imprinting of a bowling ball seated in the recess and exposed in said open side in response to, in succession, pivoting of the handle on the collar to center a selected die in respect to the recess, adjustment of the handle support bar with the handle toward the frame along the studs to bring the selected die into contact with the ball, and rotation of the pin to force the selected die into the ball surface.

2. A bowling ball marker as in claim 1, further including means at the ends of said bar for releasably lock- 7 ing the same against displacement longitudinally of the studs from a selected position to which it is adjusted thereupon.

3. A bowling ball marker as in claim 2, wherein said bar locking means comprises jam nuts threaded upon the studs, two at each end of the bar, the nuts at each end of the bar being threadable along the associated stud into binding engagement with opposite sides of the bar to lock the bar against said displacement longitudinally of the studs.

4. A bowling ball marker as in claim 1, wherein the die clamp means comprises a die support block fixedly secured to the handle and having a threaded opening, a clampingplate overlying the block and having a smoothwalled opening registering with the threaded opening of the block, said block and clamping plate being adapted for receiving the dies therebetween, and a clamp screw threadedly engaged in the opening of the block and extending through the opening of the clamping plate, said screw being shouldered to bear against the clamping plate, thus to shift the clamping plate toward the block responsive to threading of the screw in one direction, and thereby fixedly clamp the, dies between the block and plate.

5. A bowling ball marker as in claim 4, wherein the block and plate are of segmental configuration and include front edges arcuately bowed in a direction toward said open sideof the support frame, said dies being prog-ressively reduced in width in a direction toward one end thereof for assembly of the dies fan-fashion in a segmentally shaped grouping, between the block and plate.

6. A bowling ball marker as in claim 5, wherein said block has an arcuate rib paralleling and spaced inwardly from said arcuate edge of the block, the several dies matching grooves receiving said rib in the grouped relation of the dies.

References Cited. in the; file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Caller Dec. 13, 1955 

